Church of the Infant Saviour 22 Holland Avenue, Pine Bush, NY 12566

Tel: Parish Office (845) 744-2391 Fax: (845) 744-5938 Religious Ed Office (845) 744-9944

website: www.infantsaviour.org email: infsavpb@hvc.rr.com

December 24, 2017

Infant Saviour, Pine Bush

Father S. Niranjan Rodrigo, Pastor Father Raymond Pavlick, Weekend Assistant (Retired) Deacon Jack Carr Deacon Frank Rose Parish Trustees: Dr. Richard Reich Paul Rouis Parish Council Chair: Dn. Jack Carr Parish Secretary/Notary Public: Mrs. Patricia Ditizio Parish Office Hours: Monday, Wed-Friday 9AM-4PM Tuesday 9AM-6PM RCIA Ministry: Dn. Jack Carr Religious Education: Sister Shinty Antony, Director Mrs. Jeanette Coates, Secretary Mrs. Gail Baumann, Former Coordinator Adult Faith Formation: Mrs. Rosemary DeCaro Catholic Youth Organization: Mrs. Jeanette Coates Mrs. Lula Tartaglione DEVOTIONS: Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague Novena - after Friday 8:00AM Mass -- Every third Friday Anointing of the Sick during the Novena Miraculous Medal Novena – after Saturday 8:00AM Mass Holy Hour – Wednesday, 6:30 – 7:30PM Marian Prayer Group – 2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 10:30AM, in Church Mother's Chapel - 9AM-6PM Ultreya – 2nd Thursday of the month: 7:30PM, Church Hall Eucharistic Adoration – First Friday of the Month: 9AM – 6PM

Our Lady of the Valley, Walker Valley

MASS SCHEDULE: Saturday Evening: 5PM-Pine Bush Sunday: 8:00 AM – Walker Valley 9:30AM & 11:15AM – Pine Bush Daily Masses: 8:00AM Monday through Sat. – Pine Bush CONFESSIONS: Saturday 4:00-4:40 and by appointment.

INFANT BAPTISMS: Any 2nd or 4th Saturday of each month at 12 Noon. or by special appointment. Please call the Rectory at 744-2391 ext. 10 Baptism Catechesis is offered on the 3rd Saturday of every month at 3PM in the Church Hall. Any parents who are getting their children baptized and have been directed to attend should plan on coming to one of the sessions before the baptism takes place. Godparents may also attend. Please direct any questions or concerns to Dn. Jack Carr or Dn. Frank Rose. ADULT BAPTISMS: We use the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. THE HOMEBOUND are visited regularly. To arrange a visit, please call the Parish Office at 744-2391 MARRIAGES: Please call the Rectory 744-2391 for an appointment at least six months prior to the desired date. No date will be given until the couple has met with Fr. Niranjan, Deacon Jack or Deacon Frank. The Monsignor James S. Conlan Knights of Columbus Council 5329: Meets the first Thursday of the month in the Pre-School Building call Charlie Cino 744-6174

December 24, 2017

Mass Intentions Sat: December 23, 2017 8:00AM: 5:00PM: Herbert Black (Tim Coughlin & Jessica Benedict)

Week of December 24, 2017 Sun: 8:00AM: 9:30AM: All Souls In Purgatory 11:15AM: For the Deceased Members of the Ditizio/Marino Families (Ditizio Family) 10:00PM: Christmas Day: Mon: 9:30AM: Special Intentions of the Fay & Gallagher Families (Mary Fay) 11:15AM: For the Deceased Members of the Sapio Family (Their Family) Tues: 8:00AM: Wed: 8:00AM Thur: 8:00AM: Alexander Blazeski (Gram Watkins & Family) Fri: 8:00AM: Bernard & Bonnie Wyscoki & Andrew & Johanna Seman (Their Son & Daughter) Sat: 8:00AM: Anne Fontana (Short Family) 5:00PM: Mary Garguilo (Anne Turnbull)

Week of December 31, 2017 Sun: 8:00AM: Alexander Blazeski (Gillian Batchasingh) 9:30AM: Herbert Black (Perry Family) 11:15AM: Henry & Joan Carr (Rowena Reich) CONFESSIONS: Saturday 4:00-4:40 and by appointment.

Sanctuary Lamp:

In Loving Memory of Alexander Blazeski Requested by Auntie, Uncle , Charlyn, Samantha & Trevor WV Sanctuary Lamp:

In Loving Memory of Eddie McConnell Requested by Mom, Dad & Chris

Readings: December 31, 2017 First Reading: Genesis 15:1-6, 21:1-3 (17B) Psalm: 105:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 Second Reading: Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 Gospel: Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22, 39-40

Cenacle for Life: Please join the Healing Hands for Life Ministry 1:00PM every Thursday in the Mother's Chapel to pray for the end of Abortion and the Sanctity of Life -- Please consider joining them in prayer.

Religious Ed News: There will be no Religious Ed Classes from December 22nd until January 1st. Classes will resume on January 2nd. NOTE CHANGES: Students: PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT

your Yellow Mass Cards are to be stamped at the end of the Mass, the minimum of 20 Masses to be attended are required to be promoted to the next grade level. There will be no baskets. Look for the adult who has the stamp either in the vestibule or the church hall. Students will keep their card until it is to be collected from them in April 2018.

Prayers for the Sick and Deceased: Please contact the

Parish Office with names of anyone who need prayers for healing or have recently died in which you would like to have included in the bulletin. The names of those who are sick are to be submitted only with he named person’s permission. Please pray for the sick: John Araneo, Roland Mora, Pat Matteo, Jeffrey Selear,, George Rescigno, Matthew Schaffner, William Meyers, Richard Tanagretta, Doris Bennett, Jeanie Kane, Bob Broughal, Ed Gatzen, Joseph Manfredi, Anthony Gordon, Eric Maurin, Roland Rossi, Kurt Schaffner, Frank Rispoli, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Clare Dougherty, Michael Phillip, Brayden Ackerman, Trevor Holts, Fran Hodges, Karleen Hillsman, Jarrett Winum, Baby Alyssa, Sister Margaret Ellen Burke, Robin Masiero, Al Masiero, Butch Covert, Mary Fay, Baby Sydney, Phil Sanfilippo, Robert Pawlowski Katie Araneo Joanna Filippini, John McPhillips, Jen Rommel and Catherine Veluta

PLEASE REMEMBER all our Men and Women who defend and have defended our freedom in the armed forces and their families in your prayers, especially: Henry Brylowski Jr. (Army); John Walton (Army) Ed Ryan (Iraq); Chris Corti (US Air Force); Sean Patrick Barry (Marines), Louis Springer (Commander, Navy); John Broughal (Air Force) Captain Caitlin Conley (Fort Bragg, NC) James Grabinski (US Air Force), Eddison Parris (Camp Lejeune, NC); Capt. Francis Pascucci (USMC), Michael Haffner (Airforce), Breana Mangold (Navy), Christopher Mangold (Navy),Heather Owney (1st Lt. Army), John A. Burrow (Air Force), Christopher Chase (Ensign, Navy), Nicholas G. Burrow (AirForce), Andrew Starke (Army), Daniel Vasseur (Navy), Alex Hyde Goudreau (MP Army), Matthew Wilkins (Air Force), Zachary Sawitsky (Marines), Jake Sawitsky (Marines), Aaron Nahs (Air National Guard), James A. Tremper, Jr. (Army), Sean Kane (Army), Arthur Jefferson III (Army), Timothy Fay (Master Sergeant, Air Force), Casey Fay (1st. Lt., Army), Brian Daniel Gray (Marines), Devin Masiero (Marines), William LaCovara (Air Force), Gerardo Balsa (Air Force) Colin Cummings (Marine Corps), Matthew Cruver (Air Force National Guard). Michael Balsa (Marines)

Please Thank and Pray for Our Men and Women who have bravely fought so that we can preserve our freedoms.

More than meets the eye - God Becoming Human There are many accounts of the apparitions of our Lord Jesus, Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saintly persons to many people. There are also many questions about the historical accuracy of those accounts. But, these accounts, which have a deeper meaning, serve a purpose beyond historical literalism. They speak to our hearts about greater truths. Sometimes, these truths are best captured in story forms or epics. A mythical story may not be necessarily false. It can be true at a deeper level than facts and reason alone can approach.

In the beautiful account of the Nativity of the Lord, we come to know the truth of God identifying with us fully and completely. God has become one with us by becoming small and vulnerable. He has become one with us in our weakness, in our limitations, and in our brokenness. In His humility and simplicity, He bore fruits among us.

This is the wonderful message of Christianity: God becoming human; Emmanuel, the Word Made Flesh, the spiritual assuming the physical, or the embodiment of the Divine. Christmas speaks to us the reality that God is not distant and separate from us. Rather, He is very near and one with us. Christmas tells us that the most fruitful life that ever lived is the life of Jesus, who did not cling to His divine power, but became small as we are.

The incarnation means that God in His very own body knew what it means to be human, to be broken, and to be one with us. This reality of the embodiment of God is surely the greatest mystery of our faith. Indeed, it is the greatest mystery of history. At this time of Christmas when we give thanks to God for His presence among us as Emmanuel, I would like to thank first and foremost for the grace of our Almighty Father through Christ for guiding and leading our parish community. Also, on behalf of the whole parish, I would thank all the parishioners for their prayerful presence and significant participation in our parish in every way.

We are so grateful to our generous givers and donors who support our parish financially. All of us are aware that beside the grace of God, the future of Infant Saviour also depends on the generous financial support that you always give. Without your continuous and generous support, the smooth functioning of the parish would be impossible. Please, accept our sincere thanks and prayers to all of you and continue to be generous to your parish as your means allow.

We as a parish are also grateful for our dedicated two trustees, the members of the Parish Council, and the members of the Finance Committee for their counsel, recommendations, and generous giving of their time for a healthy administration of the Church through the grace of God.

Also, we are so grateful to those who volunteer; the Sunday Collection Counters, the Ushers, the Renew and Rebuild Campaign Team, the Altar Servers, the Lectors, the Eucharistic Ministers, the Musicians and Choirs, the Eucharistic Adorers, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) Team, The Adult Faith Formation Team (AFF), members of the Knights of Columbus, the Volunteers that decorate the Church for special feasts and occasions, the volunteers who organize the Church activities, and various other individual volunteers who do not want to be acknowledged publicly, but, who are willing to do many services to their Church by generously giving of their time and talents for the upkeep and maintenance of the Church. Also, we as a parish are so grateful to our Office Staff, Religious Education Staff, all the Teachers in our Religious Education Program who graciously give their time to nurture the faith of our children. On behalf of the Clergy at Infant Saviour, Fr. Raymond Pavlick, Dn. Jack Carr, and Dn. Frank Rose, I would like to wish you a Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year.

Fr. Niranjan Rodrigo, Pastor

The Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, the new performing arts space of the Archdiocese of New York, is located in lower Manhattan and is offering wonderful events in theater, music, talk and film! For more information please visit SheenCenter.org. Use the special discount code ARCH and get 20% off selected tickets. Collections: December 24: Weekly/Christmas December 25: Christmas December 31: Weekly

Collections: 2017 Sunday Collection: Dec. 17, 2017 $ 6,341.80 Maintenance Collection: $ 1,717.00 (Parishpay included)

ALL CURRENT PARISHPAY USERS PLEASE READ: Parish Pay is now LPi which is an alternative means

of fulfilling your stewardship commitment to Infant Saviour Church that benefits both you and the parish. It is considered as

the best means available of supporting our Parish. For those who are using ParishPay, PLEASE NOTE THAT all has

been transferred from ParishPay to LPi -- you do not need to do anything unless you want to change the amount you are giving, account it is being taken from or enroll into the program. All information remains confidential and secure. Website link has changed. You do need now to log on to infantsaviour.org and go to bottom of first page and link onto the website provided. Once on the site please log on using your email and your password that you have been using for ParishPay, they will then ask you a few questions to authenticate yourself. You can also do this by phone. Phone number is 1-800-950-9952. If you run into an error message, please call the Parish Office or the phone number for LPi. As in the past, the funds you designate are deducted from your account and directly credited to Infant Saviour Church. Currently, we have 73 families in our Parish participating in ParishPay and we would like to grow that number. Enrollment is easy, friendly, secure, confidential and most of all there is no cost to you for using LPi.If you have any questions, please call the Parish Office at (845) 744-2391 x 10. We encourage you to surf out to LPi's website and see just what this way of giving has to offer. Thank you in advance for your continued generosity to Infant Saviour Parish, your spiritual home. May God Bless You All Abundantly.

Newburgh Bus to the Friday, January 19th, March for

Life in Washington, DC Pray with us on January 19th for human life to be respected in our society, and come with us for the March for Life. The Newburgh bus to the Friday, January 19th March for Life in Washington, DC, will leave after a 4 a.m. Mass from Our Lady of the Lake Church, Route 52, Orange Lake, and after a breakfast stop will arrive in Washington, DC, in time for the Rally and March for Life. The

bus returns to Orange Lake at about 10:30 p.m. Bus riders pay $50/seat; $35 youth (sponsorships available for those needing help paying). Make checks payable to "St. Patrick/St Mary’s

Church." For questions, reservations or donations please

contact Howard & Beth Spear (howard.jp.spear@gmail.com or 845- 564-5257), or St. Patrick/St. Mary’s Rectory (561-0885).

ATTENTION ALL ENVELOPE USERS: Your

yearly box of envelopes for 2018 will be set up for pick

up in alphabetical order next week, December 24th in

the Church Hall. If you do not see your box, Please

call the Parish Office at 744-2391. Thank you.

RENEW & REBUILD 2017 We are very thankful to the families thus far who have made their sacrificial pledges so generously towards the Renew and Rebuild campaign. Last week pledges raised for commitment week was $117,690.00, total pledges raised at present are $529,958.00 We are at 81% of our assigned goal which is $653,000.00. We are asking that for those who have not yet made a sacrificial pledge to prayerfully consider making one. As of November 17 w have received payment from Diocese of $49,959.38. Thank you! Father Niranjan Rodrigo

"Tree of Life” The Donor Recognition Tree is one way of

recognizing, remembering and honoring a living or deceased "

family member or friend, commemorate an anniversary or other

event or thank the Lord for favors received. The tree is on the

wall in the main Church by Mother's Chapel. The forms that

need to be filled out with who you want to have dedicated, have

been placed in both Churches and in the Church Hall. God

Bless you for your support. One Leaf: $400.00 One Acorn: $800.00 One Stone: $1,300.00 Mini Tree: $4,000.00 Please note that there will be an additional fee of $200.00 to add a picture. Payment plans are available.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

King David plans to build a temple to honor God. But God tells Nathan the Prophet that instead he will give David rest from his enemies, and ensure that both his house and community will be protected forever.

Second Reading: Romans 16:25-27

In this letter of Paul to the Romans, he explains that the gospel reveals the mystery that had been hidden for many ages. Now it has been made known to all, so that they may believe, obey, and give glory through Jesus Christ forever.

Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

The Virgin Mary is approached by the angel Gabriel, who tells her that she has been chosen to bear the Son of God. Mary is first afraid, yet shows her unquestioning faith when she simply says, “Let it be done to me as you say.”

An Advent Poem He leads me with His voice, but will not go before.

The upsteep way catches my breath; The winding turns surprise me. Over the rocks, into the holes I stumble and rise to face a fork in the way

That chills me…which way to go? He leads me with His voice, but the voice comes from behind me.

He will not go before The sun is gone. The darkness covers me. The demons…

Am I dreaming?... Terrify me. The crutches of my like give way. Multiplied around an empty, echoing earth.

The moanings of the nearly dead fill my ears. He leads me with His voice.

The voice is behind me.

He will not go before me.

I hear you Lord, but see You not. How much better if You’d walk in front.

Better for me. Never to fall. Never to doubt,

Never to scream in the darkness, If you care at all, walk before me. The voice caresses me: “it is I who am coming, not you.

Prepare the way before Me. Each step is for Me, not you. Walk on; you cannot fail. You stride in love, when you walk in faith.

Rising from your blood fall, you will stand in victory. When you shake with fear, but yet

move on, the demon dies. I am coming. Prepare a way for Me. I love you. With joyful bounding run before Me” His

voice leads me from behind

He will not go before me of course. Written by Fr. James Conlan 12/12/1984

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Blessed

New Year filled with Peace and Love! The Angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds tending their fields and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were struck with great fear. The Angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good

news. For Today in the city of David a savior has been

born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. When the Angels went away from them to Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in

haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God

for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. (Luke 2:9-20).